Electric battery



D. PEPPER.

` ELECTRIC BATTERY.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.29, 1919.

Patented Apr. 19, R921,

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ATTORNEY are stares FAT at artes@ ELECTRIC BATTERY0 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr., t9, i921.

.application led November 29, 1919. Serial No. 341,499. l f

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, DAVID PEPPER, a c1 t1 zen of the United States of America, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Fennsylvania,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Batteries, of which the following is a true andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

vwhich form apart thereof.

The nature of my invention will be best understood as described in connection with the drawings in which have illustrated a battery made in accordance with my invention in which- 4 Figure l is a sectional elevation of the battery.

Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of a Somewhat modified absorbent and expansible cup separator used in connection with the battery.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a lead grid which l preferably use in connection with my battery, and

Fig. 4 is a face View of the casting which is bentA into the lead grid form shown in Fig. 3 and the grids, of course, filled with active material.

The battery is made up of a container A, which, in my construction, consists of a cast cup of a lead antimony alloy containing,

preferably, between three and six per cent. of antimony. This alloy forms the cup to be cast with thin walls, say from twelve to` twenty thousandths of an inch in thickness, and while permitting the use of such thin Walls the alloy also insures that the cup shall be sufficiently sti and rigid to'prevent y easy deformation. rll'ais alloy also is not attacked by the electrolytes used, and is a good conductor and does not cause local action.

B is'an annular layer of active material, which is pressed orpasted against the inl ner wall ofthe cup. This active material is preferably peroxid of lead acting as the .a terminal located as indicated at F8.

positive electrode of the battery, and sufficient contact can be secured between the container and this active material without the formation of ribs or projections in the inner side of the container, which, of course, greatly simplifies the construction of the cup. C is a cup shaped separator formed of some absorbent and expansble material molded or otherwise formed into a cup, the cylindrical Wall of which lies againstI the active material B and the bottom of which rests upon the bottom of the containervcup. This separator cup can be formed by molding wood pulp, or similar material, into the form of a cup. 'lhe material must be such as will not be affected by the sulfuricy acid used as an electrolyte and must not contain salts or compounds which would be injurious to the action of the battery. D is the inner electrode which may be formed in any convenient way, but, preferably, and for batteries of anything but the smaller sizes is formed by a lead grid made up, as shown in Fig., 3, and formed from a flat casting such as shown in Fig. 4, by bending the grids F or F2 in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 3. rihe two grids are united by a cross piece F, and from which extends rThe grids are made up of vertical ribs indicated at f, connected by horizontal ribs indicated at f', but the active material is pressed or pasted in the grids by usual and well known methods.

The separator cup C must be made lof such size and such material that itcan readiliy be laced in position in the container cu a ter t e active material B is in place an will also permit the ready insertion of the electrode D, while, at the same time, when the material in the cup is wet with the electrolyte it will expand into contact with both the inner and outer layers of active material and exert pressure u on both which may not be ver great, t oughl no harm would be done if the pressure was quite considerable. rlhe function of the cup is not only to exert a certain pressure upon both the inner and outer electrodes but also to contain, and hold in contact with the electrodes, a sufficient amount of electrolyte to insure the efficient chemical reaction between the electrodes. n

lt is an important function of the cup that it acts as a mechanical and electrical separator between the two electrodes, and by v carrying the walls oi; the cup inward atv the bottom, as indicated at C', not only is' the inner electrode prevented from coming in Contact with the container cup, but also any particles'which may become separated from the inner electrodes are prevented from contacting with the container. ll indicates a filling, which, in the annular type of inner electrode is advisable, and this nlling preterably may be ot some absorbent material similar to that oi the container cup and holding in contact with the inner walls of the inner electrode the electrolyte with which it is wet. G indicates a layer of sawdust, or any convenient material, which is placed on top of the electrodes and of the separator cup after the battery is filled and the electrolyte absorbed, the object being to allow for expansion, and the battery is sealed in the usual manner with a sealing compound, for instance, asphalt, as indicated at ll-l, rlhe terminal lug F3 of the inner electrode extends through the sealing layer., and, in the construction shown, comes in the center ont the cylindrical bearingwhere it is most conveniently placed While l believe itis most convenient to .form the separator cup C with a dat and nanterre folding sheets of material, such as blotting pa er, into the form of the container cup.

aving now described my invention, what l claim as new and, desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A battery comprising a container, active material contacting with the inner wall thereof, a cup formed of absorbent and expansible pulpy material set in the container so as to contact with the active material and extend over a portion of the bottom of the container, and a core ot active material contacting with the inner wall and bottom of the cup, said cup being made ot such thickness that when wet with electro* lyte its expansion will exert pressure against the walls of active material between which it lies.

2. A battery comprising a thin walled cup shzped container cast from an alloy of lead an antimony, a layer of active material contacting with the inner wall thereof, -a core of active material and an absorbent material filling the space between the outer layer and core `ot active material.

3. A. battery comprising a container, active material contacting Awith the inner wall thereof, a lead lgrid formed of two sections bent in opposite directions to conform to the shape ot the container and united by a cross piece at the top formed with a conducting lug springing from its center, said segments having active material attached to them and constituting the inner electrode of the batteryJ and absorbent material separating the inner and outer electrodes.

' havin Perrier.A 

